Portuguese Chourico and Kale Soup

Now that the weather is much cooler, it’s time to pull out the soup recipes along with the new recipes that I’ve stashed away. Yesterday, I made Portuguese Chourico and Kale Soup, another Rhode Island favorite. Chourico is a spicy pork Portuguese sausage like Spanish chorizo. It’s usually available in most major grocery stores or in specialty stores. Kale is one of the super foods. What I like about Kale is that it doesn’t wimp out like other greens once cooked. While it does become tender, kale retains much of its texture and form when cooked unlike spinach, which can be reduced to a pulp if not carefully prepared.

This is my basic recipe for Portuguese Chourico and Kale Soup. You can enhance the flavor by adding a cup of chopped onion, two or three cloves of minced garlic, and a healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (a must for me). I also reduce the chopped cabbage down to two cups, but it can also be left out. Savoy cabbage is also a good choice. So is chicken broth. Even the chourico can be replaced with linguica, another Portuguese pork sausage, or any spicy pork sausage. Reduce the cooking time by using one of the many types of canned white beans. Honestly, this is one of the recipes where I use what’s at hand.

There is one thing about Portuguese Chourico and Kale Soup that I don’t find exciting. The beef shank, kale, and cabbage gives the broth a watered down greenish tint. The taste of the tender kale and chourico makes it all worth it.

Instructions

Cover and soak beans overnight in 6 cups of water, or add one cup of beans and six cups of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans before using.

In a large pot, place drained beans, chourico, soup bones or shank, salt, and 2 quarts water or more as needed to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Cook over medium heat until beans are just beginning to be tender, about 1 hour.

Remove shank bone from soup. Stir in cabbage, kale, potatoes and enough extra beef broth or water to cover. Cook until potatoes are tender, 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I’ve had a soup similar to this before, this looks great and I like the addition of crushed chilli flakes. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!! Laura@Baking in Pyjamas

Hello cute lady! This looks so amazing. I would love some right now. Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you taking the time to stop by and party with us. It wouldn’t be a party without you! I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm. Lou Lou Girls